Learn more about the libraries' servicesCarolina's libraries are a vital resource for the campus community with classes and a staff that helps Tar Heels conduct research, craft the perfect paper and explore history. And, they offer great places to study, too.
a vibrant hub
Meet the University Libraries
The University Libraries are much more than books and study spaces. They’re a comprehensive world of inquiry, a vibrant hub of encyclopedic glimpses into the past and an engine that speeds students and scholars into the future. The libraries are a model for the modern research library and they enrich our state and the world, creating better lives for everyone.
The system includes Davis Library, the central collection for humanities, social science, and business research; the Wilson Special Collections Library, home to rare and unique materials; R.B. House Undergraduate Library, dedicated to the learning needs of undergraduate students; the Health Sciences and Law libraries; the Kenan Science Library; and specialized subject libraries
Libraries are so unique. They are highly revered. They are highly trusted. Carolina’s library can help shape the future of this University. Ultimately, we need to ask ourselves what we need to do in order to help our students go out and change the world.
Elaine Westbrooks, Carolina’s university librarian
Student success
World-renowned library collections, innovative services and expert librarians create an environment for discovery and inspiration at any level and in every discipline. Whether you are a first-year student learning about research and citation or a practiced scholar engaged in specialized inquiry, Carolina’s libraries are your trusted partner.
Learn more about the campus' librariesCarolina’s libraries contain a lot of books — more than 10 million volumes. The libraries are also home to thousands of manuscripts, an extensive vinyl record collection, a makerspace and podcasting studio.
Preserving stories
Archiving community stories
The University Libraries’ Archivist in a Backpack project empowers everyone to tell their own stories and capture the history of communities around the world.
Local to worldwide in a couple of clicks
The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center has digitized more than 120,000 yearbooks, newspapers, photographs, city directories and other items.
Dean Smith collection debuts at Wilson Library
The family of legendary basketball coach Dean Smith donated 12,000 items to the Southern Historical Collection at the Wilson Special Collections Library.
University Libraries receives $1.75 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
A grant will allow the Southern Folklife Collection at Carolina’s University Libraries to preserve, digitize and share unique audio and moving image recordings with the world.